Category: Science Fiction

I have said it once and I will say it again, “Streaming has changed everything about how people watch anime.” The ease and convenience have made it that watching things legally streaming has become so simple that shows that are not streaming pretty much disappear from the general consciousness. In the past , there used to be some notable exceptions. There were titles that were so popular that they retained a viewership despite the fact that they were hard to find through anything other than illicit means or importing. Now even titles with evergreen fandoms have become almost invisible when they are not streaming.

The prime examples are Macross Delta and Dragon Ball Super. Compare the conversation around Macross Frontier and Macross Delta. Macross Frontier was the talk of the town with anitwitter and Macross Delta was really only discussed by the hardcore of the hardcore Macross faithful. You could argue this has to do with something like a difference in quality between the shows but the general silence surrounding Macross Delta was present even before a single second of Delta had aired. Even the evergreen Dragon Ball series could not avoid this. Whenever anything Dragon Ball comes out through normal means the fans come out in legion beyond even the familiar faces of fandom. Just look at the turn out to the new Dragon Ball movies in theaters. So when something as monumental as the first new Dragon Ball TV series in 18 years (Dragon Ball Z Kai is not new material) comes out like a ghost in speaks volumes. It would have been the ONE series that I assumed this would not happen to but even Goku could not defeat the beast of invisibility that comes for a series without a streaming component.

In between the world of no streaming and shows with a footprint in fandom lies Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin anime. Much like a phasing card in Magic: The Gathering it seems that Gundam: The Origin spends parts of the time visible to fandom and then disappears for a time. Whenever a new episode of Gundam: The Origin comes out the previous episodes will stream for a month and the go back into Sunrise’s version of the Disney Vault. It means that Gundam: The Origin is not normally available to what you think of streaming anime but it also has a visible footprint.

If you have ever owned a Netflix account and used it actively you have probably put something in your queue and put off watching it until they day you realize it is not longer streaming through the service. It is VERY easy to put off until tomorrow what could easily be done today until it is too late. That is why we are talking about Gundam: The Origin today. With the release of the 4th episode, we wanted to muse on the OVA series while the iron is hot. In this current window of streaming in probably the best time to discuss the show. It lets everyone who might have otherwise overlooked the series a chance to sample it for free while also reminding people who have forgotten to watch it the last time it was available that they have a second chance.

Ahh, the Gundam 0079 story is the best with an incredible cast of characters. Trying to add to that narrative could be a dangerous tightrope walk but Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s storytelling is impeccable. The flashback arc that The Origin anime covers is so much less about robots than you would expect in a Gundam series, it is a dramatic, compelling story of the road to war.

Disclaimers:

There may be spoilers for Gundam 0079 since this is a prequel story.

To keep things from getting confusing: Casval will be the name used for the rest of the post no matter what phase of his identity he is in.

Like this:

If it were not obvious from the first Legend of the Galactic Heroes novel it should be painfully apparent that Yoshiki Tanaka is dedicated to having the lives of Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-li be mirror images of each other. It is important to note they are never presented as the same man on opposite sides of the conflict. They are not doubles of each other. They are strategists who look remarkably similar but differ on some key points that make all the difference.

They are both young men who are clever and clear thinking who are viewed as lucky upstarts by the older corrupt establishment. At the same time their younger rivals view them as something that must be torn down for their advancement. Both commanders long to change the sickly systems they reside within but still few willing to step up to the challenge. Both leaders have a single loyal person constantly by their side along with a highly capable cadre of supporters who are the few people able to see their ability.

At the same time how both men view the path to reform is radically different. Reinhard believes that he must be the one who helms the change and will crush anyone who stands in the way of his righteous rule. Yang believes that any true change must come from the will of the people despite the fact that he knows the masses rarely have the will to enact that reconstruction or maintain the disciple to support it. This colors their attitudes, alliances, and strategies.

With civil wars in both the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire the character of both Galactic Heroes is put into stark contrast. The crisis will show the strengths, weakness, and characters of both of them as well as the organizations they exist within.

While the first book introduces Yang Wen-li and Reinhard von Lohengramm then pits them against each other in successive battles to quickly drawn us into the world (OK, minus the big history chapter at the beginning); the sequel works to show us the philosophies of these two intelligent leaders in much greater detail.

Like this:

Let me explain. The original PSYCHO-PASS is the first Star Wars trilogy. Both of them are science fiction stories that take almost all of their elements from older popular works and then combine them into new if somewhat formulaic story. They both have some major flaws and plot holes but if your will to suspend your disbelief a bit they are highly entertaining and maybe even a bit enlightening. Neither of them is for everyone but they are easy to recommend for a general audience and probably worth watching just so you can talk about them. Also while there are some major and vocal detractors for both of them then both generally got universal praise.

The second season of PSYCHO-PASS is the prequel trilogy. It is just a train wreck that eats away any good will that the original had earned. They really seem to miss what made their predecessor popular and totally botch a good deal of the world building, character development, and thematic resonance from the original. They both started off and the fans tried to convince themselves they were good but by the end most people just hated everything about them. Finally they both turned off a lot of fans who would have otherwise stuck with the series.

So PSYCHO-PASS: The Movie and The Force Awakens had a heavy burden placed upon them. They had to convince everyone who had been burned by what came became before them to give their respective series another chance. The Force Awakens succeeded in that mission amazingly well. Does Psycho-Pass: The Movie do the same?

The PSYCHO-PASS movie sees the return of Shinya Kogami, co-protagonist of season one who left before the dust had even settled. Akane grew a lot during that time and when they encounter each other again, it is more as equals.